A Twitter user, (we’ll call her Jane Doe), sent me an email last week because she doesn’t understand why she receives very few @replies and RT’s (retweets) on Twitter.

Just for the record, she is using Twitter to promote her craft related blog by networking with other people in her niche and announcing her blog posts.

To begin my investigation, I visited “Jane’s” Twitter landing page and instantly noticed that 65% of her tweets were related to her personal, day-to-day activities.

Another 30% were dedicated to her blog updates, and the remaining 5% were posts about random web-related tidbits.

So even though she claims to use Twitter for site promotion, you wouldn’t know it by examining the balance between her personal and site related tweets.

Be Careful of Twitter Vanity

It’s tempting to make a lot of your tweets about yourself and what you’re doing.  However, if you’re using Twitter for site promotion, most people are following you because they are looking to see how you will provide value to THEM.

So if too many of your tweets are about you, it can get monotonous and people may start to ignore you.

In Ken Evoy’s first e-book, Make Your Site Sell (which is now free) Ken reminds us…

No one cares about you until they know how you can help them.

Sounds a bit blunt, but it’s true.  (I love Ken’s tell-it-like-it-is approach.)

Remember, most of your followers don’t know you personally, so the mundane updates may create a “who cares” attitude among many of your followers.

Some will ignore.  Others may even unfollow you.

As I’ve said in other posts about Twitter, a fun or personal tweet is fine every now and then, but balance is key.

Engage Your Readers

One thing I’ve noticed is that people LOVE to give their opinions.

Also, when you ask a question or poll your audience, it makes people feel important and connected with you.

Not to mention, it’s a great way to generate ideas and drum up a few interesting TWIT-versations. (Did I just write that?) 

Are Your Tweets Insulting?

Not all of Jane Doe’s tweets were self related.  There were a couple that provided links to other resources.  However, there was one that really caught my eye.  It was a link to download Internet Explorer 8.0.

There was no explanation. No reason why you should update.  Just a link to the download as if it just launched this morning.

Providing a free resource link is fine, but when it is outdated or out of place, this can be confusing or insulting.

Sure, there may be a few IE7 users who may find this useful, but as a general rule, make sure your information is current and useful to the majority of your followers.

Engage With @REPLY

This sort of goes back to the vanity point above.   If you’re using Twitter for site promotion, it shouldn’t always be about you.  It never hurts to reply and make conversation with the people you are following.

If someone posts something interesting, retweet it.  Or take the time to tell them how much you enjoyed their post.

People take note and appreciate it when you send them an @reply or RT their tweets.  These people are more likely to reply to you or even RT some of your tweets in the future.

Lighten Up

One thing I like about Twitter is that the environment is very casual. When you do post something not related to your site/business, make it fun or witty. It’s a great way to display your personality.

Don’t take yourself so seriously.  Crack a joke one in a while.  It reminds people you are a human and not just a 48×48 pixel avatar with a Twitter account.

Be Valuable

There are many ways to show your value as a Twitter user…

1) Give away relevant, useful freebies that are only available through Twitter. (Relevant and useful are the key words in that sentence.)

2) Post industry news that your audience will find interesting.  Know your audience and keep them relevant.

3) Use Twitter to announce your new content and videos

4) Keep selling to a minimum

You Can’t and Won’t Please Everyone

Let’s face it.  People follow others on Twitter for different reasons.  Your follower’s expectations will always vary.  Some may be OK with your mundane updates, others may not be as patient.

You’re never going to please everyone all the time.  But if you follow the guidelines above, it will keep many of your followers interested and engaged.

We could sit here all day and discuss the best ways to use Twitter for promotion, but I bet most of you would agree that it starts with providing value to your followers.

Start with that, and there’s less room for error.  Also, people will be much more accepting of your less desirable Twitter habits.

The Self Promoter

Some people join Twitter and have absolutely no intention of providing value or developing meaningful relationships.

They look for popular users and blast them with @replies about their own products and services.

I checked out one guy’s profile and he was doing nothing but sending self promotional @replies to me, Oprah and Barbara Walters.  (Well, at least I was in good company.) 

This is NOT the way to use Twitter. To me, it’s even worse than e-mail spam. If you want people to notice you, create value and people will come to YOU.

It’s bad enough when people promote their site/service in every tweet, but to @reply someone with an unsolicited offer is taking it to a whole other level.

Not cool.

The Obsessive Compulsive Return Tweeter (O.C.R.T.)

This is the person who rarely (if ever) comes up with content of their own and spends most of their time on Twitter RT-ing what other people tweet.

Certainly nothing wrong with an RT every now and then, but if you really want to gain a loyal following, you should also work on generating your own content.

The Stalker

This person will do anything to make contact with you, even if that means @replying to you multiple times per day about absolutely nothing.

Occasional small talk on Twitter is fine.  I’d like to think I’m a pretty friendly gal.   However, 8 tweets in a row from the same individual asking personal, irrelevant questions is not.  So stop.

(I’m not speaking from personal experience or anything.) 

Random Roger

Every now and then I get @replies from people I don’t know, about very random topics and articles. I’m not sure what the strategy is behind this, but it’s very odd.

Anonymous Andy

It’s 2009.  So the I-don’t-have-a-digital-photo excuse doesn’t fly anymore. Unless you resemble that brown square with the blue circles (which is a whole other problem) , you really should take the time to add a picture or logo.

If you’re using Twitter for fun or personal reasons, that’s one thing, but if you are promoting a business you must pay attention to the smallest of details.  Yes, even your Twitter icon (or lack of one) makes a huge difference.

The RT Begger

I don’t have a problem with people asking for a RT every now and then. If your tweet is useful, exceptional, or compelling, then it’s good to encourage people to spread your message once in a while.

However, adding “Please RT” to the end of every tweet looks a little desperate if you ask me.

Here’s the deal.   If you tweet good stuff, many people will RT without you even asking.  If your tweets are useless/boring, adding “Please RT” to the end won’t do you much good.

By the way, don’t forget to RT this post.

Just kidding.

Even though I’ve had a Twitter account for a while, I didn’t become active until about 6 months ago.  Here are a few things I’ve learned.

Keep in mind, many of these tips are only relevant if you use Twitter for site or blog promotion.

1. Your Last 20 Tweets Say a Lot!

When someone goes to your homepage on Twitter, the first thing they see is your last 20 tweets (your recent Twitter stream.) So you have 20 chances to sell them on following you.

You want your Twitter stream to exude value and give potential followers a glimpse of what they will get as a follower.  You will be surprised at how many people use your recent Twitter stream to make the follow decision. I sure do.

Take a moment and look at your last 20 tweets.  Now look at them from the viewpoint of a potential visitor who may be thinking of following you.  See anything you might want to change?

Note: A lot of people use Twitter clients instead of Twitter.com, so they may see fewer than 20 tweets when they view your Twitter landing page.  Keep that in mind too.

2.  Make Your @replies Useful to Everyone

When you reply to someone, make the most of that reply so other followers can benefit.

If someone asks me what software I use to record my screen, I could simply reply with…

@username Camtasia Studio.

There’s a slight problem with this answer. My followers did not see the original question. So even if they know what Camtasia Studio is, they have no idea what I’m talking about unless they click the person’s username to find the question.

A better reply would be…

@username I use Camtasia Studio for my screen recording videos.  You can download a free trial here…

Not only have I helped a curious follower, but I’ve provided information that my other followers may find useful.

Thorough replies like this also add value to your recent Twitter stream as I mentioned above in #1.

Note: Twitter made an update in May so that when you begin a tweet (reply) with @username, the only people who see it is the person you are replying to and anyone who is following both of you.

So if you want everyone to see your reply make sure you do not start the tweet with @username.

3.  Use a Customized Landing Page

I used to link to my blog in my Twitter profile, but realized that doesn’t tell potential followers a lot about me.  At this level, most people really just want to know who you are and why they should follow you.

So I created a Twitter landing page to give people a quick overview of who I am and what they can expect if they follow me.

Some will argue that it’s best to link to your homepage for the “link juice”, traffic and earnings potential.  I guess my approach is more indirect.

I think it’s important to gain new followers and build credibility through content.  There will be plenty of time to promote my sites as I build up credibility.

Most people who buy from your site are going to be visitors who have grown to trust you — not potential Twitter followers who are just trying to figure out if they should follow you or not.

Get the follower now.  Make the sale later.

4.  Take Advantage of Direct Messages

If you get a lot of questions on Twitter, you don’t have to reply to everyone publicly.  Not to mention, a bunch of replies can clog up your Twitter stream.

I have been using direct messages a lot more since I read Marko Saric’s book, Twitter Marketing: How to Go Viral on Twitter, where he encourages you to “pick your tweets wisely” and to be careful about tweeting too much as it may become “white noise” to your followers.

5.  Mix It Up!

No one wants to follow someone who continuously brags about themselves or promotes their site in every tweet. (Yawn!)

Learn to mix it up and give your Twitter stream some variety.  Poll your followers, engage them, offer some words of wisdom, be funny. The key is finding the right balance.

Never lose sight of the fact that your goal is to provide VALUE to your target audience.  However, a fun or off-topic tweet here doesn’t bother most people, and many welcome the variety.

6.  Twitter is Not the Place for Hard Selling (For Most People)

If you’re going to promote products, affiliate links, etc. you really have to make sure your brand is solid and people respect you.

I don’t do a lot of affiliate link dropping on Twitter.  Quite honestly, I’m not comfortable with it.

I prefer to let my tweets do the PREselling and hope that my earned credibility will turn my followers into loyal site visitors and customers in the long-run.

Nothing wrong with an occasional site promotion or affiliate link here and there, but you definitely have to choose your promotions wisely and build the credibility first.

What have you learned from using Twitter?

I was reading, Darren Rowse’s blog, TwiTip.com, and came across an article that struck a chord with me. It was written by Skellie of Skelliewag.org.

The article is called How to Follow Everyone Back on Twitter Without Ruining Your Experience.

Skellie suggested that you follow everyone who follows you in order to grow your number of followers.  She admitted that once she began “returning the follow”, her follower rate increased.

Then she goes on to explain how you can use various tools like TweetDeck (which I love!) to group/filter the people you’re following.  In other words, put the people you are REALLY interested in in one group and the “others” in another group.

I interpreted that “other” group as people you really don’t care as much about, but you are mainly following them because they followed you.

Now, in Skellie’s defense, she DID mention that you will get the opportunity to meet new and interesting people with this approach, so she wasn’t just saying to use this technique for the sake of growing your followers.

But if I’m just going to filter most of them out into the “other” group with TweetDeck, what’s the point of following them if I probably won’t read most of their tweets anyway?  Over time, that “other” group could get massive!

Now, maybe some people who use this “follow all” strategy actually do read most of the tweets and if that’s the case, that’s great (and amazing). It just doesn’t seem very useful to follow hundreds or even thousands of people whose tweets may not interest me.

Of course, I understand the importance and advantages of having a large following, but it just seems a bit disingenuous to follow people I’m going to basically filter (ignore) to potentially boost my own following.

I’ve read about a lot of people doing this (not just Skellie). I guess everyone has their own Twitter habits and tolerance. (Mine must be pretty low.)

I am just not interested in following an obscene number of people with the main goal to boost my own follower count.  Also, I hope that people follow me because they value my tweets instead of just hoping I’ll follow them in return.

Actually, I turned off the “new follower email notification” that Twitter sends out because the emails were clogging up my inbox.  The downside to doing that is I could be missing out on interesting people to follow.  (Not to mention I didn’t even know my mom was following me! Oops.) 

So I may turn that notification back on to stay in the loop and return more follows to people who tweet about things that interest me.  But as far as Skellie’s “return all follow” strategy goes, I doubt I’ll be using it.

What do you think?  Do you return all follows?

I have really grown to love Twitter in the last two months.

I must admit, when a friend told me about it a few years ago, I thought it was kind of dumb. But now I see the value of it from a marketing/researching/networking standpoint.

At first, I only used it to announce my blog posts (through Twitterfeed), but now I do a lot more manual updates.

Yes, I’m officially hooked!

Even though I’ve had my Twitter account for nearly 3 years, I just started actively promoting it in the last 2 months.  I’m seeing some pretty decent results.  Not to mention my follower count has increased by over 300 in just a couple of months.

But there’s one aspect of Twitter that I struggle with, and that is finding the balance between personal and business.  I’d love to get your opinion on this.

Currently, I use Twitter for my website and blog-related tweets, but have noticed that many of the Net Marketers I follow, use one account for their personal and business tweets.

On one side, I can see the benefits. It gives people a glimpse inside your personality and offers a nice break from the regular routine.

Plus, Twitter updates are only 140 characters or less, so a personal tweet is not as distracting as reading a 10-paragraph blog post on an unrelated topic.

But on the downside, it can turn a lot of people off if they followed you because they wanted to keep up with your business/website, and you are tweeting about walking your dog or combing your hair. Sometimes I find it distracting, but maybe I’m in the minority.

Most people who search for me on Twitter, know me from my websites and/or blog. So I assume the majority want to keep up with what’s going on with my sites.

Personally I would feel a little odd posting too many mundane updates throughout the day. A few here and there are OK, but I think you have to find a balance.

Now of course, if you are using Twitter to keep up with your friends and family, the mundane updates are understandable because your followers are people who know you personally. But if the majority follow you because of your business, I feel there is a difference.

I go back and forth on this. Sometimes I don’t mind the personal tweets from people I follow because it is a good way to show your personality.

But I will admit, there are some who go overboard on the personal tweets. In fact, I have stopped following people for that very reason.

So I’d love to know your thoughts on this.  No need to answer all the questions below, but I added them to kick-start the discussion.

1) If you have a business online and use Twitter, do you tweet about personal things? If so, how often?

2) Do you like it when people you follow post a lot of personal/mundane updates?

3) What are your expectations when you follow someone?

4) Do you have a separate Twitter account for your personal updates?

JohnnyInArizona is having dinner

Helen12345 just got a traffic ticket

KristenWilliams is late for work

If you’re a Twitter member, these are the kinds of updates you might see when you login to your account.

Ahhh yes, good ole’ Twitter — the official place to spy on people you know (or don’t know) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

So what’s all the hype surrounding this free application and what does it have to do with promoting your Internet business online?

What The… ???

I’ll be honest.  When I first heard about Twitter I thought it was the dumbest thing ever.

However, I became more intrigued a little later when I saw other Webmasters and Bloggers talking about how they use it to promote their sites and blogs.

So if you are wondering about Twitter and how it can benefit your business, here’s a video demonstrating how it works and how you can use it.

By the way, you can follow me on Twitter here.